Super Robot Wars W

Super Robot Wars W for the Nintendo DS is a game in the Super Robot Wars series of games. It is the first and so far only game in the series to feature Beast King Golion, and like most games in the series, was not released outside of Japan due to licensing issues (Nintendo DS games have no region protection however, so a Japanese cart will work in an American DS).

Overview[]

Super Robot Wars is a series of turn-based strategy games featuring worlds, characters and machines taken from various anime and manga series', usually those involving giant mecha. These typically fall into two categories:

Super Robots are large, one-of-a-kind heroic robots that typically defend the world from invading forces, using fantastic weapons and abilities that seem or explicitly are magical. They are essentially Superheroes writ large. Golion, Mazinger Z, and GaoGaiGar are all Super Robots.
Real Robots are more realistic machines commonly used to fight battles between different nations or organizations. They are usually mass-produced and carry more mundane weapons such as machine guns, beam rifles, and missiles. Mobile Suits, Aestivalises, and Arm Slaves are Real Robots.

Each game is broken up into Episodes, with each Episode comprising of dialogue scenes that set up the action and explore relationships between characters, both in their own series and with those from other fanchises, the actual stage itself, and closing dialogue scenes before cutting to a menu where the player can equip and upgrade their machines, train their pilots, and assign them their machines. Each Episode is usually based on an episode of one of the component series', and as the game goes on, an episode may cover ground from two or three series' at the same time.

Series Lineup[]

Aside from Golion, the following series' also appear in the game:

Detonator Orgun
Full Metal Panic!
- Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu
- Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid
Getter Robo G (with the characters piloting the Shin Getter Robo)
The King of Braves GaoGaiGar
- The King of Braves GaoGaiGar FINAL
Martian Successor Nadesico
- Martian Successor Nadesico: The Prince of Darkness
Mazinkaiser
- Mazinkaiser: Fight to the Death! The Great General of Darkness
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray R (uncredited in the official roster, despite using two exclusive mechs and a major villain)
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED X Astray
New Mobile Report Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
Tekkaman Blade
- Tekkaman Blade II

Story[]

Like most games in the Super Robot Wars series, W's world is a composite of several different mecha anime series'. In W. the primary series that make up the setting are Gundam Wing, Gundam SEED, Martian Successor Nadesico, and Full Metal Panic!, with Golion and other series' in the game adding in additional characters, factions, and details. In addition, various details are changed in each series to create links between them, usually along similarities in setting or character design.

The game takes place in Space Calendar (SC) Year 99. The events of Gundam Wing have concluded a year ago, but the Earth is still threatened by Mechanized terrorists, the invading Jovian Lizards, and the Mad Scientist Dr. Hell. To make matters worse, the massive Orbital Ring structure around the Earth has been invaded and occupied by alien monsters known as the Radam. Because of all these threats, various organizations on Earth outside of the main New United Nations forces such as the Preventers, Space Knights, Mithril, and Gutsy Geoid Guard have begun working together to defend the Earth.

The Golion crew is introduced in Chapter 7: "The Red Planet of 'Meetings and Partings". They arrive on the planet Mars and encounter the Mobile Battleship Nadesico, which is engaged in battle with the Jovians. Unfortunately, they are followed by a Deathblack Beastman (Robeast) that attacks Golion and the Nadesico as well as the Jovians. The Golion team destroy the Beastman as well as the Jovians with the help of the Nadesico and it's team of Aestivalis', only to find themselves sandwiched between Jovian reinforcements and a Galran fleet led by Honerva and Sadak. As both fleets start shooting at everyone else, The Nadesico and Golion manage to escape through a "Tulip", a transport device used by the Jovians. This is not without casualties among the Nadesico's crew.

In Chapter 9, the Nadesico arrives at Earth, and is met by the Space Knight shuttle Blue Earth (and, depending on if the player chooses to accompany the Blue Earth, the Valstork, a heavily-armed vessel crewed by the Ardygun Family (Original characters created for the game). Unfortunately, the Nadesico is attacked once again by the Jovians and Galrans, and Golion and the Aestivalises sortie to battle them, and are assisted by Negal Heavy Industries pilot Nagare Akatstuki and Serpent Tail Mercencary Gai Murakumo. Honerva promises that the Galra will leave Earth alone if they hand over Golion, but Nadesico captain Yurika Misamaru and the Space Knights (and Valstork captain Blessfield Ardygun) decide she can't be trusted, and help Golion fight the Galran fleet off. The rogue Evoluder Detonator Orgun also arrives, apparently choosing to help the Space Knights and their rogue Tekkaman, Blade. After the battle, the Golion crew go to Earth with the Space Knights, where GGG leader Kotarou Taiga manages to get Fala declared a "Foreign Dignitary", which helps prevent the Federation miltiary from forcibly conscripting the Golion team into their forces. As a measure of her gratitude, Fala places the Golion team under the command of his growing organization, which is formally named "Wärter" (A german term for the Warden of a Lighthouse).

As members of Wärter, the Golion Team fight in a number of battles, against Terrorists, Alien invaders, and the Mechanical Monsters of Dr. Hell. Unfortunately, the Galra Empire makes contact with Dr. Hell and joins forces with him. Nevertheless, they manage to persevere and defeat their enemies. When Wärter is disbanded on the eve of the Bloody Valentine War, the Golion team return to Altea to help rebuild, only to return to assist Guy Shishioh and GaoFighGar when he is apparently attacked by two of his allies. The Galra Empire also returns to Earth, this time helping the 11 Lords of Sol. Wärter is reformed, more powerful than ever with the help of the Junk Guild and the Three Ships Alliance.

Story and Character Changes[]

The most apparent change to Golion's storyline is naturally that the Earth has not been destroyed. The Space Explorers still end up getting captured, escaping, and finding Golion on Altea, but with the Earth still in one piece, Akira Kogane and his crew have convinced Princess Fala (along with Hys and Raible) to come to Earth and warn them about the Galran Empire.

Shirogane still dies (though the Super Robot Wars series often prevents character deaths from a series, his is too important to the regular plot to change), but he manages to survive long enough to help Golion fight one last time to defend GGG headquarters from the Mechanical Monster Draco Omega 1 before succumbing to his injuries.

In the game, Guy Shishioh of GaoGaiGar is a friend and former classmate of the Golion Team who also just happens to pilot a robotic lion that combines to form a larger robot. Akira actually offers to have Gai officiallly join the team, but Gai politely declines, saying that "Rokulion" (Six-Lion) doesn't have the same flair as Golion. Hiroshi mentions that characters who join a group later tend to have separate and different mecha of their own. As it turns out, The concept isn't far from the truth, as it later turns out that Golion was in fact created by the same civilization that built Galeon, the lion robot that forms the core of GaoGaiGar. Over the course of the game, many important moments in both Golion and GaoGaiGar tend to occur in the same stages, such as Princess Fala taking control of the Blue Lion and GaoGaiGar gaining the Goldion Hammer (Chapter 15: "Five-Colored Chains, Gold-Colored Hero") (and together saving the life of Tekkaman Blade's sister (Shara in the 1995 English dub), or the Hyper-Gravity Planetoid trap and the final battle against the Primevals. (Chapter 25: "The Battle for Jupiter! Ultra-Gravity Arm") A 4-Koma comic also parodies the idea, in two strips where Golion is formed with Galeon/GaiGar in the Black Lion's place.

During Chapter 25, if the player engages Sincline's battleship, with the Nadesico, a dialogue appears where he propositions captain Yurika (and possibly the other women in the group). Every woman on the team rejects him.

During Chapter 40, if the player engages Sincline's battleship with Shin Getter Robo, Sincline would comment that Ryoma has a nice voice. This is a reference to the fact that both Sincline and Ryoma Nagare were voiced by Akira Kamiya.

Units Appearing in the Game[]

Super Robot Wars W GoLion

Golion's attacks

Golion naturally is playable in the game. Although the five lions have icons on the map during dramatic scenes, the lions are not playable separately. Fielding all five lions to form Golion would take up a large number of the units that can be fielded in a single battle (usually around 15).

Laser Magnum
Fire Tornado
Foot Missile
Kakutou(Melee Combo)
Four Lion Attack
Blazing Sword
Ten Kings Sword Lighting Drop

As a unit, Golion has relatively weak stats compared to other Super Robots like Mazinkaiser or GaoGaiGar, but makes up for it with five pilots, and thus five SP pools, from which the player can stack a large amount of special abilities, such as being able to hit enemies with a perfect 100% chance, healing damage, or taking only a quarter of the damage all turn, before taking a move action.

Enemies[]

Deathblack Beastman Death Hell (Cyclops) is the first Beastman to appear in the game. It attacks with twin swords and beam cannons in it's chest.
Deathblack Beastman Garushia also helps make up the bulk of Galra's Beastman forces. In the series, this was the Beastman whom Haggar referred to as the Blue Fiend, and that killed Shirogane.
Galra Empire Fighters are more manoeuverable than Beastmen, but not as powerful.
Galra Empire Battleships Attack with massive beam cannons at range, and massed AA fire up close. A Flagship variant (usually representing Sadak or Sincline) also has an energy field and is generally more powerful.
Mechablack Beastman Ganma and Mechablack Beastman Pai appear in the second half of the game.
Mechablack Beastman Galra is used for both Daibazaal and Sincline in their final battles.